Treasure Planet

Walt Disney Studios, a multimillion dollar corporation has made more than its fair share of blockbusters. In fact, a whopping 96% of people have seen a Disney movie at least once in their life. Titles such as Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid have left a lasting impression on the film industry and American culture, spurring theme parks, apps, and even neighborhoods. However, Disney's most creative and innovative projects are overshadowed by these classics, and as they continue to be turned into subpar live-action remakes, these projects remain. One such project is Treasure Planet, a science fiction interpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The story follows Jim Hawkins, a troubled youth whose father abandoned him and his mother at a young age. Perpetually in trouble with the law, he turned to his mother to avoid incarceration, but could no longer do so when a (space!) pirate crash landed in front of his mother’s tavern, leading his enemies to destroy it in search of a map he was carrying. With no home or money, Jim was forced to venture into space to find the treasure in order to rebuild the tavern. Under the leadership of Captain Amelia, he became a cook on her ship, mentored by Long John Silver, a seemingly innocent cyborg. Although Silver is the titular antagonist, he becomes a father figure to Jim and must contemplate his values along his journey to Treasure Planet, leading to a moving and distinctive storyline. The film was one of the first to combine 2-D and 3-D animation, a feat for the time, which created beautiful and unique visuals that had never been seen before on screen. It flopped in the box office due to Disney’s poor marketing, as they disapproved of the adventurous project, but it remains an important staple in animation even to this day.